Introduction NoFap® is a web community that hosts challenges in which users ("Fapstronauts") abstain from pornography and masturbation for a period of time ("fapstinence" or "rebooting"). Whether your goal is casual participation in a monthly challenge as a test of self-control, or whether excessive masturbation or pornography has become a problem in your life and you want to quit for a longer period of time, you will find a supportive community and plenty of resources here.

If this is your first time visiting, read through the NoFap website and reddit-hosted wiki page to gain an understanding on what we're all about. Check out these resources for a semi-scientific look at why some of us are quitting pornography; however, Fapstronauts choose to partake in our challenges for a variety of reasons.

New Fapstronauts

Read through posts on NoFap to learn about porn addiction, porn-induced sexual dysfunction, excessive masturbation, and what to expect after you cut PMO out of your life. Learn the vocabulary commonly used on NoFap.

Obtain a day counter badge next to your user name by composing a message to BadgeBot. Click here, fill in the date of the last time you PMOed, and click send. Click here to change the date or reset your badge - same instructions apply.

I started NoFap four days ago, and it's been going decently well. I've had the urges, and fought them back each time. I made it a point to start socialising more, but I've made a discovery. When I socialise I tend to drink, smoke, and occasionally take drugs. It's like I've replaced wanking with something equally as destructive to my mind and body. So as a point of improving myself I'm giving these things up as well as. This post isn't about anything in particular, I just wanted to make myself publicly (or however public the Internet can make it) accountable. I feel once I've written it down for other people to see my will to succeed is strengthened because failure isn't just seen/experienced by just me, but also a community of like-minded people. Here's to continued improvement.

Masturbation comes in many forms- fapping is only the most obvious. :) I believe Psychoactive substance use (almost always), videogames, chronic ambivalence (professionally, socially, romantically), junk food, and even surfing the web all fit neatly into this category.

Now, I don't think masturbation is inherently evil, so I don't think the additional items listed above are inherently evil, either. The problem arises when one fails to recognize non genital-stimulating activities as masturbation, thus allowing "Everything in moderation" to function as a blanket ego-defense/rationalization for a LIFESTYLE OF CONSTANT MASTURBATION.
Here is what the schedule of that person looks like:
Smoke pot: 4 times per week, avg. total time spent - 7 hours
Play console games: 5 days/ week, avg. total time spent: 13 hours
Drink/socialize/"go out": 1 night/ week, avg. total time spent: 4 hours
Surf Reddit/facebook/etc.: 4 times/week, avg. total time spent: 4 hours

The above person spend >1 DAY/week on useless activities BEFORE counting time spent on porn, but they can and they WILL tell you: "Look, man, I don't even smoke pot every day. Yeah, when I hang out with certain people we get high, but so what? Everything in moderation. Okay, I play videogames, but who doesn't? You practically have to if you want to be social, and it helps me relax. What, my drinking's a problem now? You just can't be satisfied- I have A FEW DRINKS every week, Jesus, what's your problem? I'm not one of those crazy people who spends hours a day on Facebook...."

How much of your post is based on observing your own life? Because it's definitely something I could have written. Today I worked out, meditated, read some non-fiction book, practiced speed reading, and am going to bed early. My habit checkmark boxes are starting to look less red and more green :-)

It's one of the the things that actually helps me make a difference. every night I reflect on it. And if j look at it in the morning I start by knocking a few things out. Starts a day right. Keep at it bro :-)

Maybe you didn't read the post. Maybe you read it, but your ego defenses reworded it in your head, so you wouldn't feel compelled to change.

I did not say or imply that one should live like a monk.

"Everything is a useless activity in one sense or another..."
Does this sentence contain any useful information? EVERYTHING is a useless activity, to the nihilist. To any non-nihilist, any activity can(must be) be looked at as more or less useful than another activity.

Assuming that you are not a nihilist, every activity is more or less likely to bring you closer to your goals. Engaging in the activities I listed for extended periods of time will not bring you closer to your goals, unless those goals include constant intoxication, accumulation of XBox live achievements, etc.

Either way, your comment does not respond to the words of my post.

Once again:

"...I don't think masturbation is inherently evil, so I don't think the additional items listed above are inherently evil, either. The problem arises when one fails to recognize non genital-stimulating activities as masturbation, thus allowing "Everything in moderation" to function as a blanket ego-defense/rationalization for a LIFESTYLE OF CONSTANT MASTURBATION."

This echoes my own thinking. I've lived in the manner you described and, to use an analogy, its like paddling in a pool rather than doing lengths; spending every day mincing about instead of building to something worthwhile. Mincing about seems to me to easily lead to general nihilism and ennui. And ennui feels like slow death. That's how you wake up and five years have been used getting stoned all day while playing video games.

This describes my current situation. I've slowly come to recognize I have an internet addiction which I'd like to some day get over. Nofapping changed my life a bit, but my internet addiction hangs over me as a shoddy replacement.

This post reminded me of a TED talk I watched where they investigated if telling people your goals has an effect on you achieving them. Turns out you're less likely to achieve em if you tell everyone. It was interesting, can find a link if you want. Goodluck anyway:D

Find out what works for personally. For some people it works to share their goal with everyone, increasing the number of people they would let down if they were to fail. Some people want to keep their goals to themselves because they may experience what the guy in the video is talking about or be afraid that those people would discourage them.

However, telling people that you want to win the local marathon, they will encourage you and tell you to gor for it. However, with NoFap, people will probably tell you, that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself and ask you "why would you do that?, everyone faps".

If you don't tell people your goals, you don't get any of the identity/ego credit for being "the kind of person who pursues X..." without telling anyone, you only get identity reward for getting off of your ass and achieving X.

I disagree. In this context telling your goals is the equivalent of writing them down among like minded friends. We are each moving forward with personal improvement. Putting a stake in the ground that you want to achieve is much better than keeping it to yourself.

Completely disagree. I don't care what social psychologists say. This isn't a 45 minute experiment. This is more or less from now till we're dust. Using social media as a support group (or something similar) is essential. If this phenomenon of non achievement was true, then support groups like AA wouldn't work at all. People who embrace accountability are better for it. I bet the fucking treadmill in his presentation is his.

You have a point. The research he presented was vague, and not at all extensive. I'm going to fancy a guess and say its a rule that applies to trivial goals where the consequences of failure are negligible.

the experiment seems like it's based around water cooler talk. Telling your co-worker Dave out of the blue that you're going to try building a small rocket ship isn't going to really help you whatsoever in achieving that goal. He has an established view of you and won't be able to believe these grand ideas of how you're changing your identity to a "rocket ship builder". Telling your long time college buddy that studied physics with you in undergrad -- i am sure he'd be interested, encouraging, and maybe even help! He would love it if you became the "rocket ship builder", the new you.

I'm with you on this one, but the only way I can socialise in groups of people is to drink, which leads to smoking cigarettes and taking drugs. I usually wake up not liking the person I was the night before. If I could casually have a few and then call it quits I don't think I'd need to stop, but I can't. I always need one more. If I'm going to get over my social anxiety (should have mentioned this in my post) it's going to have to be without the use of alcohol and drugs.

The drinking to mask social anxiety explanation is so me. The only time I ever drink - I don't really anymore - is in social situations. If anything, no matter how I "did" socially, how much fun I had, whatever. I never felt like that was really me. I feel like this cycle of Soc. Anxiety>drink>socialize is an unhealthy one. I feel like it's a little inauthentic, ya know?

Actually, I'm pretty darn sure most of my addictions stem from some anxiety. The main addiction, for me, isn't porn or anything, but I think it's the internet in general. It's been getting kind of bad lately.

Back to the point, anxiety and whatnot is the root, and everything else seems to be that shiny thing to divert our attention. I think an addict of any sort needs to get to that source, which in our case seems to be anxiety. I don't know, it comes down to living a life worth living. That seems to be why most come to even something as silly as a subreddit such as this one. They want something more. Not that something more which goes the way of indulgence, but something more, which goes the way of, I don't want to say discipline, but freedom. This shit really sucks, and it's exhausting, and depressing, and honestly, I think we all want it, the addiction, to be done with. Nobody likes prison, especially one which they've made for themselves.

Oh man, you hit the nail on the head. Most things in my life are going very well right now, except for my ability to socialize without getting hammered and inhaling a pack of cigarettes, both of which just kind of negate all the positive.

as one nofapper put it, masturbation isn't just hand to penis - it's in the mind, and I found I do in many things, like procrastination, telling myself I will do this and that... but never getting to it.

All those projects you want done at your house, that shelf to put up or that window to fix, plus all those cool hobbies to try and pick up like that new sport or craft, plus the different types of cool people to meet at that band scene or even here on reddit at /r/meetup. You now have time for them and they will make for a fuller life. Write that list of projects on your arm so you just keep seeing the awesome stuff you've planned. Shit just read a Calvin and Hobbes book and learn to explore!